The Lighter Side of Technology

At the next MWC in Barcelona, Toshiba will unveil its new multimedia centric Windows Mobile-power smartphone, the Toshiba TG01.

Long time WM users might recall the last PocketPC that Toshiba produced were the E740, E750 series that excelled in built quality and clean professional design. Toshiba discontinued the PocketPC line few years back, however the relationship between Toshiba and Microsoft was still going on with the Zune 1 built based on the Toshiba GigaBeat.

But it is time for a renewal with a spanking new slim sexy TG01 powered by a 1GHz processor.

The TG01 reportedly will pack all of Toshiba’s TV technology into a tiny touchscreen handset, creating the ultimate multimedia experience. The thinnest of the device will be a mere 0.39 inches thick, compared to the iPhone’s 0.48 inch. Missing from the E750, the TG01 will answer this time with a 4.1” VGA touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution.

Toshiba’s TG01 will take the honor to feature the Qualcomm’s 1GHz T- Snapdragon QSD2850 chipset that has feature called DSC (dynamic speed control), which intelligently throttles the processing clock speed for better battery life management .

With the slim form factor, evidently there will be no hardware keyboard, but Toshiba’s TG01 will have an optional virtual trackpad on its screen as well as an accelerometer-replacement called a “G-sensor” that Toshiba will use for some “shaking” interactions.

Under the new customized graphical interface made by Toshiba is the venerable Windows Mobile 6 (hopefully 6.5) with the new mobile IE browser supporting Flash.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress this morning, as talks continue in Geneva on an Iran Nuclear deal. Netanyahu warned against the negotiations, saying "I can only urge the leaders of the world not to repeat the mistakes of the past." He added, "To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war." Netanyahu was invited to speak to Congress by the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who didn't inform the White House. "My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office which he holds," Netanyahu said yesterday.

Look closely at the above portrait of Bill Clinton. Specifically, look between the fireplace and the plant, exactly where Bill Clinton’s hand is pointing and Hillary Clinton’s gaze is staring. What you should see is the shadow of a dress, not white and gold, but just plain blue. The artist behind Bill Clinton’s National Portrait Gallery painting says he snuck a reference to Monica Lewinsky’s infamous stained blue dress into the former president’s official portrait.

The painter, Nelson Shanks, told the Philadelphia Daily News that he intentionally placed a shadow from a blue dress that was meant to represent Lewinsky’s into the painting.

Graphene targets cancer stem cellshttp://goo.gl/sddFzr Scientists have used graphene to target and neutralize cancer stem cells while not harming other cells. Using graphene oxide, in modified form of graphene, acts as an anti-cancer agent that selectively targets cancer stem cells (CSCs). In combination with existing treatments, this could eventually lead to tumor shrinkage as well as preventing the spread of cancer and its recurrence after treatment. However, more pre-clinical studies and extensive clinical trials will be necessary to move this forward into the clinic to ensure patient benefit.

Spacewalk Trilogy Complete! NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Barry Wilmore (in this photo) ended their spacewalk at 12:30 p.m. EST today. Virts and Wilmore completed installing 400 feet of cable and several antennas associated with the Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles system known as C2V2. Boeing's Crew Transportation System (CST)-100 and the SpaceX Crew Dragon will use the system in the coming years to rendezvous with the orbital laboratory and deliver crews to the space station. They completed one additional task to retrieve a bag to cover equipment on the outside of the station.